LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson went through an extended workout prior to Monday night’s clash with the Minnesota Vikings.

He wasn’t testing himself to see if he was ready to play.

“It was just a workout,” Johnson said. “For me, just going through the position drills, I felt good doing it. … I was never playing a game.”

After missing six-plus weeks with a groin strain that also led to a calf issue, a Monday return would’ve been far too fast. Johnson was cleared to practice less than a week before the Vikings game, providing little ramp-up in terms of conditioning and work executing Dennis Allen’s new scheme.

“I feel pretty good just getting that extra week of reps, extra week of conditioning, going through things really. Just getting up to speed in the playbook, being able to do walk-throughs, things like that, is really beneficial for me,” Johnson said Thursday. “All those reps are important.” 

Johnson feels far better for practice time. So good, in fact, that he anticipates making his season debut on Sunday against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

That’s a huge boost to the Bears defense. Johnson is arguably the team’s best player regardless of position. The two-time Pro Bowler is as good as it gets and provides a massive upgrade to the secondary.

“Jaylon is one of the best, if not the best, corner in the league,” safety Kevin Byard III said in a Wednesday press conference. “He’s a shutdown corner. You can just put him on their top receiver, and you don’t have to worry about him. He’s a leader on our defense, as well. He brings a certain swagger, personality to our huddle, our defense and our team. So obviously if you can get a guy like him back, it’s huge for us.”

The Bears primarily played zone last year and preferred to keep their cornerbacks on certain sides of the field. Allen plays a lot more press-man coverage, which provides greater flexibility for Johnson to shadow a specific player.

That could set up a premier, all-day matchup with Lions All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown, though the Lions are so stacked at receiver that the Bears might just keep their typical alignment.

Johnson believes he can eliminate a receiving option on every play, with a track record that has instilled belief in those around him.

When you play on the outside, it boils down to confidence,” secondary coach Al Harris said in an interview with Marquee Sports Network. “You know what I mean? If you don’t have confidence, you’re not going to be a good player. Jaylon is a confident dude.”

And for good reason. He has done well against the game’s best. While Nahshon Wright has filled in admirably and has consistently gotten his hands on the ball since camp began, Johnson’s presence changes how to handle the Bears defense.

Johnson knows how important this game is to the Bears, especially after dropping the season opener to another NFC North rival.

“I’m sure everybody feels that same urgency,” Johnson said. “I mean, you never want to go 0-2, you want to try to win as many games as possible.”

DJ, Caleb on the same page?

There’s a route that’s getting lots of run on social media from Week 1, where DJ Moore’s wide open down the sideline on the Bears’ final possession, throws his hand up, and quarterback Caleb Williams and Moore couldn’t connect. That was one of a few missed opportunities for the offense, which is still adjusting to head coach Ben Johnson’s new scheme.

Moore’s route wasn’t designed like that, and the hand up indicated he was running into space.

“If the quarterback is in his rhythm, he’s expecting you to be in a certain place and so we’re saying, hey, that’s where we gotta go,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “If you end up — ‘Hey, I’m wide open’ — early in the route, you can fire that hand up and tell him early in his drop that I’m running to space here. But that’s one of those things where we’ve just got to get those two guys on the same page. Really, the correction is across the board for the whole offense. It’s good for everybody to see that and how we want to handle that in the future.”

Moore was asked about his sync with Williams on Thursday, and the veteran receiver wasn’t concerned about it because of the effort being put in by both players.

“It might have not showed during camp,” Moore said. “I don’t really look into — how do I say it? Camp is camp at the end of the day, and everyone’s learning and growing. I felt like we were doing extra in camp to get on the same page.”

Participation report

The Bears received good news on Moore, who took a heavy hit against the Vikings. He was a full participant with abdominal/groin injuries and should be good to go on Sunday. Johnson was also a full participant.

The news isn’t good on defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who wasn’t able to practice with a knee injury. Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring) is in the same boat and hasn’t practiced since his late addition to last week’s injury report.

Running back Roschon Johnson (foot), defensive back Josh Blackwell (groin), linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and receiver Jahdae Walker (ankle) were all limited.

The Bears will practice again Friday and then release their formal injury report.

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